Govt Claims No Loss Of life Or Major Injury In Kashmir, Schools To Re-Open Next Week

There has been no loss of life or major injury in the last 12 days in Jammu and Kashmir, Chief Secretary BVR Subrahmanyam claimed.

Anadolu Agency via Getty ImagesA soldier holds an assault rifle as he stands alert outside the venue of India's Independence Day celebration in Srinagar, Kashmir on August 15, 2019.

Offices of the Jammu and Kashmir government were functioning normally in the Valley on Friday and schools will reopen next week, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary BVR Subrahmanyam said in a press briefing.

Subrahmanyam claimed there had been no loss of life or major injury since restrictions were imposed on August 5, when the special status given to Jammu and Kashmir was abrogated and the state was bifurcated into two Union Territories.

On detentions in Kashmir

Subrahmanyam said, “A few preventive detentions of individuals have been made in accordance with the law. These are being reviewed. Appropriate decisions will be taken based on law and order assessment.”

The government has refused to reveal how many people have been detained or arrested. Residents told HuffPost India that widespread night raids had been carried out by the army since August 4. Families of detainees told Reuters they did not know why they had been taken or where.

Subrahmanyam said, “The government’s focus is on the earliest return to normalcy while ensuring that terrorist forces are given no opportunity to wreak havoc as in the past.”